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The Korean Dance has a rich tradition and it has never compromised with the geographical boundary between South Korea and North Korea. The Korean dance has held an importance in the lives of the Korean people for ages. There are few traditional Korean dance forms which were widely performed in the rituals even three thousand years ago. Like in all other countries Korea has a rich tradition of jolk dances. Lately, North Korea dance schools have adopted few international dance forms. One of the popular modern Korean dance is the Korean versions of Russian classical ballet. The oldest form of Korean dance known is Nongak.
The forms of ritual Korean dance which were performed in the religious ceremonies include the Shaman, the Buddhist and the Confucian. There were few forms of courtly Korean dance which were staged mostly in the banquets of the courts. Two of the courtly dance forms were Hyang-ak and Tang-ak. Hyang-ak has a deep bonding with the land of Korea since this form took its origin in Korea. Tang-ak though was a celebrated form of Korean dance, was actually imported from China. These Courtly Korean dance forms were accompanied with songs and music. The dance forms were very formal and feminine. The costumes of the courtly dance forms were quite elegant and they differed from those worn by the ritual dancers.
The Korean dance feels proud for one more form. It is the mask dance dramas where the common folk took part. It is believed that this form originated under Buddhism. These mask dance forms were performed with a belief that this performance would free themselves from the evil spirits.
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